Life is peaceful after the defeat of Moo until Holly's father reverts back to the darkness and abducts his daughter. Now Genki is summoned back to defeat evil once more, along with the other rebels, before Moo's powers are fully restored.

It's time for me to try a full length fan fiction instead of a one-shot. This whole thing takes place a few years after season 3, so if you didn't get to watch it it's okay. The first section of this story is a mini recap of the 3rd season.

Note: I'll be using some names made by CP, who wrote the infamous Monster Rancher epic story, Monster Rancher 200X, throughout this entire story. This includes Yosho (Holly's father), Coltia's last name (Sunrei), Holly's last name (Mercris), and Holly's hometown (Toriyama).

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Delusions of the Heart

Chapter 1. The New Life

The wind blew the soft leaves of the rice crops as the sun beat down heavily on all the land. The surrounding trees rustled when the wind passed by, which caused several young birds to chirp in response. Although the air was intensely hot, it didn't mean being outside wasn't completely unenjoyable. There was work to be done as well, and the sun couldn't stop the hard working farmers from grabbing their sickles and hoes before heading out into the scalding heat.

The town of Toriyama was one that many people considered to be a miracle. Years before, the town had been just about burnt to the ground by a terrible monster, leaving only two survivors to live on. One of the survivors was a young girl and the other an eyeball monster. Once the quest to defeat the dreaded Moo had been completed, the young girl had set off alone to the remains of Toriyama to revive the once Lost Disks. Although the lost humans could never be brought back, it didn't stop the monsters from joining with the girl to rebuild the town.

Once Toriyama had been rebuilt, however, the girl took her leave. She had a long quest to find and revive her friends that had been bonded to the legendary Phoenix, and she wouldn't stop until she found them. The loss of Magic Stone would cause her search to be more difficult then ever, though.

Her first re-found friend was a purebred Mocchi monster. Finding her friend without the power of a Magic Stone had been nearly impossible, but she had proven it could be done. Her next find wouldn't be a happy one, however.

During a terrible storm, the girl and Mocchi came across the horrific Mystery Disk of their worst enemy; Moo. The disk spoke to the girl in the voice of her father, and she could feel her father was trapped in the disk with the evil spirit of Moo.

The girl's father had once been Moo, and it would forever haunt her. It didn't stop her from loving him, though, and so began her quest to free him from the disk.

One by one, the girl regrouped with her friends. First, a boy from another world, and next came the girl's original Suezo monster along with their Golem friend. The group was able to win the disk containing their Tiger friend, and lastly the Hare monster joined. The group came back together and was able to obtain a new Magic Stone, which the girl was able to use to get her father back. His memories had not been revived with him, though,

With no memories, the girl's father was a mess and a ruined man. When his memories returned, though, he was even more ruined then before.

The defeat of Moo came again, and the evil in the word was banished in a burst of light. With the enemy gone, all seemed good.

All seemed good…

A small stream flowed quickly as a young woman gathered some of the clear liquid into a small pail. She smiled as the wind ruffled her shirt gently and her hair blew lightly, tickling her face.

"Holly! Do you need help?"

The young woman turned around to see her companion waiting to help her. Her companion was a yellow eyeball monster that hopped on one "leg".

"Thank you, Suezo, but I'm okay." Holly replied with a small smile. She gave him a thankful pat on the head before heading off to haul the pail back to their home, Suezo in tow.

Holly hadn't changed a whole lot in the years that followed the defeat of Moo. She had grown a little and her body had filled out. Her brown hair was still tied back in a loose ponytail with a red ribbon, and she still had deep and thoughtful eyes. Her personality was the same; she always put others before herself and she was kind to everyone she met. When going to town or working, Holly would always wear an outfit that was the same as her old outfit. Part of her wore it out of comfort, and another part of her wore it in remembrance of her adventures with her friends.

"I was thinking of going to town to buy some spices. Want to come?" Suezo asked with a smile.

"Ah, you know I'd love to, but I have to clean the laundry and do some cooking." Holly smile sympathetically.

Suezo nodded in understanding as the two parted ways with a wave of his tongue and a playful shout from her. Holly smiled as she made her way home, though her smile faded slightly at the sight that greeted her. Yosho, Holly's father, was cutting wood aggressively and with a frown on his face. The sight made Holly worry a bit, for she knew even after four years of being freed of Moo that people hadn't forgiven the man for his deeds.

"Father, is everything okay?" Holly asked with concern as she made her way over to the angered man.

The older man let out a low moan as he threw his axe down in aggravation, causing Holly to physically flinch. Yosho had a temper, and he had been known to lose his control easily. Holly was one of the few people who could calm the man down when he was in one of his "moods".

"Ah, everything's fine. It was just a long day." Yosho said with a sigh as he brought some of the chopped wood into the house.

Relieved that her father wasn't going to do anything rash, Holly allowed him his space and she made her way into their field of rice. With the war being over, the rebels were no longer needed as heroes. The reality of it all had been difficult to grasp, and it was disheartening when the group of friends had gone their own ways.

Hare had left to go open his own casino. The rabbit monster would check up on Holly every so often to ensure she was safe. When Holly had first started her new life, she was broke. With no money and no local friends, she, Suezo, and Yosho had been homeless. They had lived on the streets like this for several weeks until Hare had caught wind of their situation. Disgusted that no one would help Holly, especially after she had rebuilt the town, he had sent her several thousand gold coins to put a down payment on a house. They could never repay him for his out of character kindness.

Golem had returned to the disks that he once guarded, and revived each and every one of them. Feeling his work there was finished, Golem had quickly made a side trip and had fished out Undine's Mystery Disk from the lake. He revived the water spirit before heading back to Toriyama. Once there, he opened his own restaurant. The restaurant wasn't successful at first, until Holly came and tutored the rock monster on how to cook. Now, the restaurant is beyond successful, and Holly even works where several days a week.

Tiger's journey brought him back to his original home in the canyon, where he revived his pack. The pack no longer steals (much), but rather protects. After much travelling, the wolf monster was reunited with his brother, Gray Wolf. Now in the company of his little brother, Tiger and the rest of the pack are an unstoppable force. The pack always makes it a point to stop and see Holly when they're near Toriyama. They often come with gifts that they "find" in their travels.

Mocchi had one goal in life once the war was over: get stronger and defeat Most in the Legend Cup. The quest for the Magic Stone had been a long, but inspiring journey for Mocchi. The little pink monster was determined to with the next Legend Cup, and he had already promised that he would give the Magic Stone to Holly. Mocchi had last been seen in several newspapers for already winning three of his matches. He was on his way to achieve his dream.

As for Genki…

Holly felt herself frown just thinking about the energetic boy. After the fight with Durahan/Moo, Genki could only stay in their world for several days. It pained Holly to see him have to go so soon, and she still couldn't get over him. He had left with a sad smile on his face as he promised he'd be back as soon as he possibly could. But days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Yet, even though it had been four years, Holly still waited day after day for Genki's return.

Holly felt herself numbly pick up one of her gardening sickles and begin to cut some of the rice. The ends of some of the plants were now bending, showing it was time to harvest them. She was, as people considered her, a farmer now. The adjustment from traveler to farmer had taken time, but she had adjusted eventually. Holly worked hard, and for four years she provided the town with good and valuable crops. She would work from sun rise to sun set, and sometimes even past dark. This was necessary, but it was also taking its toll on the woman.

Yosho watched his daughter work with all her energy in the fields, and he felt himself let out a sigh. They were barley getting by, but it felt like they used up every ounce of time and energy they had into this new life. The door of the cabin opened harshly before Suezo entered with a sack full of spices. The eyeball monster paid no attention to Holly's father as he put the spices on the table and headed back outside, but not before grabbing a glass and filling it with water.

Holly could feel the sweat and dirt on her forehead, and her back was aching from the days work. A nudge snapped her out of her trance, however.

"Holly… here. You're going to dehydrate." Suezo said with a frown as he forced the cup of water into the brunette's hand. "You can't keep working like this. You're going to kill yourself." The monster said with worry.

Holly took a long guzzle of the water and she gave Suezo a smile and a thanks. The feeling of the liquid was refreshing, though the gesture was even better.

"Please come back to the house now. You've done enough for today."

"I guess you're right. Besides, I have to cook dinner." Holly said with a nod as she finished off the water and gave Suezo a pat on the head.

Suezo frowned and shook his head. He wished he could cook so Holly wouldn't have to. The girl did far too much, and the stress had been eating away at her for the past four years. The pair returned to their home, where Yosho was waiting patiently. He had been watching Holly work, and he had been thinking hard about life and a solution.

"What do you guys want to eat tonight?" Holly asked her father and Suezo as she got out a few plates and cups from the cupboard.

"Maybe if Yosho would get off his lazy ass, then maybe he could cook for a change!" Suezo growled as he shot a glare at the older man. Yosho hit the table top with his fist as he stood up, anger flowing through his mind.

"Lazy ass? Me? You don't cook either! And you do less then I do! You have to be the most useless monster I've ever seen!" He retorted, as Suezo blushed with fury.

"OF COURSE I CAN'T COOK! DO YOU WANT ME STIRRING YOUR MEALS USING MY TONGUE?! AND I DON'T HAVE ARMS! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COMPARE TO YOU GUYS?! YOU'RE JUST A LAZY OLD MAN WHO TAKES ADVANTAGE OF HIS DAUGHTER!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! I'M SURE IF HOLLY HAD THE CHOICE SHE WOULDN'T HAVE UNLOCKED A MONSTER LIKE YOU AND-"

"STOP IT! PLEASE!"

Holly's shout broke through the argument, and both Suezo and Yosho turned to face a shaking Holly. At seeing her so distraught, the duo turned away from each other so they wouldn't be tempted to fight.

Even at the beginning, Suezo hated Yosho. The only reason he hadn't pushed the older guy off a cliff was because he knew it would destroy Holly. Yosho had been Moo, and Moo had killed his and Holly's entire village. How could he not hate the guy?

Dinner was filled with an awkward silence which made Holly uncomfortable. She shifted slightly several times throughout the meal, and she was relieved when it was over. Sometimes things felt like they were falling apart. Holly cleaned the dishes (with Suezo, even though cleaning was awful for him since he had to use his tongue and he always got soap on it) before cleaning up and heading off to bed. Bed was the one time of day Holly could focus on her thoughts.

The brunette stared sadly at the sky through her window as she laid her head down on her pillow. Most nights, her thoughts would drift to Genki. She couldn't deny it that she had developed a bit of a crush on the boy, though she would never tell him that. Not only was she slightly older than the boy, but he probably would take it as a joke. She often wondered if he remembered her, or if his world was everything to him now. 'I wonder… if he would ever want to come back here…' She thought with mixed feelings.

Suezo entered Holly's room and took his place in the other bed in the room. Suezo had insisted he sleep in the same room as Holly when they first moved in to the house four years ago. At first, Holly had thought it was for perverted reasons (although she sometimes still thinks that), he had made it clear that he didn't trust Yosho, and that he wanted to protect the girl. After hearing his confession, Holly couldn't say no to her companion, so he moved in with her. Suezo watched Holly's face twist with sadness, and he knew she was thinking of Genki. He hated to admit it, but he partially wanted her and Genki to get together. When Holly was young, no one would even glance at the girl. She wasn't very attractive and was surprisingly frail. When she started her journey with Suezo to find the Phoenix, however, things changed. The first person to show interest in Holly was Horn the pirate. The Suezo/Tiger subreed was annoying and flirtatious, but he was only enjoying himself. The same went for others like Shogun the Mighty. They were all just flirting and enjoying Holly's looks. After the war, however, things changed even more. Once Holly moved into the house, several men from town showed interest in the young women. Her body had filled out and she had become extremely attractive. What scared Suezo wasn't really that these men were interested in dating Holly. He was scared because he knew these men were interested in courting and marrying her. Holly was now 20 years old, and that was a prime age for getting married and… having kids.

The thought of that was too much for the eyeball monster to handle. He knew a lot of the men would just want to use Holly for self pleasure and would dump her the minute they found a flaw in her. Thinking of Holly getting hurt brought anger into Suezo, and his mind went back to Genki. He knew Genki was a bit dense and naive, but he also knew Genki would defend the people he cared about even if it cost him his life. Besides, he knew Genki well enough and they got along pretty well.

'Ah, I'll worry about that later. Holly isn't stupid. She'll see through any guys' false promises.' Suezo thought to himself as he noticed Holly was already fast asleep, and decided to do the same.

The night was still and the stars were dull. Yosho looked up at the stars with a frown on his face as he sat at the edge of his bed. He let out a frustrated sigh as he looked down at his blistered hands.

He hated this.

He hated being lower class. He hated farming crops. He hated cutting wood. He hated the town. He hated the townsfolk. He hated Suezo. He hated being weak.

'How can Holly stand this? I hate this life! I hate seeing Holly work so hard for next to nothing! We mean nothing to these people! When I was Moo, I was treated with respect. Now people spit on the ground that I walk on. I hate being powerless…' Yosho thought bitterly as he felt the frustration and aggravation flow in his body.

For the rest of the night, Yosho stayed in deep thought, attempting to find a solution to his dilemma.

Okay guys! That's just the introduction, so it's kind of boring right now. I hope to update this at least once a week if I can.

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.